A Brief History and Development of Gagaku Music in Japan
Gagaku, the official music of the Japanese Imperial Court, traces its roots back beyond the 10th century, making it “the oldest continuous orchestral music in the world today" ("venta sin receta viagra Institute for MedievalJapanese Studies"). Gagaku literally means “elegant music,” and is a term that was first recorded around the year 701 (Ortolani, 1995). It originated as an exclusively classical genre, separate from popular music ("Gagaku, Imperial Court Music & Dance of Japan | Musicians of the Imperial Household | History of Gagaku"). It has been handed down through the ages by professional court-appointed musicians, and still remains in the custody of the Japanese Imperial household to this day ("Institute for MedievalJapanese Studies").
Gagaku itself has undergone tremendous development in its more than 1,200 years of existence. It includes a plethora of sub-categories, indicating everything from the countries from which a particular type of music was borrowed, to a piece’s relative age or historical provenance. Currently, it may be divided into four categories: instrumental music (kangen), dance music (bugaku), sung or chanted texts (saibara and roei, respectively), and Shinto ritual music ("Gagaku, Imperial Court Music & Dance of Japan | Musicians of the Imperial Household | What is Gagaku？"). While so much of gagaku is thought to have changed throughout the centuries, it is commonly believed that it still represents the most authentic and only living link to the ancient music of Japan and China ("Institute for MedievalJapanese Studies"). The preservation of gagaku is of such importance to the Imperial Court that it is only in the most recent of times that any true musical innovation has been permitted to occur. Even with some musical developments beyond the traditional forms, most efforts with the performance of gagaku follow a strict paradigm of perfect rendition rather than interpretation, as “some imperially-trained musicians have become increasingly aware that preservation alone is not enough to keep an art alive" ("Institute for MedievalJapanese Studies").
Gagaku came to Japan from China with the introduction of Buddhism. In 589, Japan sent official diplomatic delegations to China in order to learn about Chinese culture, particularly the music of the court of the Sui dynasty. During the Tang dynasty (618-907), musical instruments were brought from China as well, and the first two official divisions of gagku in Japan were established: kogaku (“ancient” music predating the Tang dynasty) and shingaku (“new” music) (Ortolani, 1995). In fact, it is to be noted that most gagaku is originally of foreign origin, and was assimilated into Japanese culture, where it has been developed and preserved ("gagaku | Japanese music").
The popularity at court of gagaku reached its zenith in the 10th century. However, as the power of the aristocracy gave way to the military rule of the samurai imposed during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), gagaku was performed mainly in the homes of aristocrats and seldom at court. Gagaku further lost popularity during the Onin War (1467-1477), and remained unpopular for about 100 years, until the Edo period (1603-1868). During this time, the Tokugawa shogunate revived the practice of having court ensembles (Ortolani, 1995).
In 1868, with the Meiji Restoration, the last of the Tokugawa shoguns relinquished power to the first in a new line of Japanese Emperors (Jansen, 2000). As a result, the new Imperial Court established the Tokyo Imperial Palace Music Department. In 1955, the government of Japan officially recognized gagaku as “important national treasures,” the designation given by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs to what are considered to be the “most precious” of Japan’s Tangible Cultural Properties ("Pamphlet on Cultural Properties").